Nonrefillable bottle closure



MW. 15, 1938. M. w. SHERWOOD NONREFILLABLE BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Aug. v26, 1956 61 2 ,4? J v.71! um IIHI Hull Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFI/CE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a non-refillable bottle closure.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a non-refillable bottle closure in which refilling would be disclosed by conspicuous and unmistakable evidence to anyone with ordinary powers of observation.

Various clever expedients have been resorted to by unscrupulous persons who undertake the refilling of containers bearing the distinctive mark-- ings of manufacturers of well-known or highly advertised brands of alcoholic liquors or other liquids of intrinsic merit, in order to foist upon the public spurious products which are not only inferior in quality but often positively injurious.

For a better understanding of the purpose of the features about to be described for preventing the deception now extensively practiced, some of the expedients at present resorted to by the unscrupulous should first be pointed out.

Naturally, the simplest procedure, if it is possible, is the removal of the closure, and its subsequent replacement after refilling. Where this is rendered difiicult of accomplishment, and also where the closure is provided with some form of valve in the pouring passage, to obstruct flow in the reverse direction, means have sometimes been devised to reach such valve and to hold it from its seat, in order to prevent its functioning during refilling. Failing in this it may be found that, with the bottle in an inverted position, the valve may fall away from its seat, and under these conditions it has been found possible to exhaust the air from the bottle and allow the vacuum thus created to accomplish the refilling by suction while the bottle was held in this inverted position.

The construction of the closure may also be such as to make possible the cutting away of some portion of it, so as to enable the obstructing valve to be temporarily removed and replaced after filling, this temporary removal being carefully concealed by substituting for the part cut away something so closely resembling this portion as to escape detection by the ordinary observer.

Bearing in mind the various subterfuges described above, it is a further object of my invention to provide improved means for locking the body of the closure against withdrawal from the neck of the bottle; to provide improved means for closing the flow passage against refilling, whether the bottle is in upright or inverted position; to provide means for covering the flowcontrolling parts so completely as to make them quite inaccessible while the cover remains in place and yet will not interfere with the flow of the liquid from the bottle, and to provide a cover as indicated which will be both hard and brittle and of a construction suificiently fragile so that it will of necessity be broken by any force exerted upon it in an effort to withdraw the closure from the neck of the bottle, the hardness of such portions of the connection as remain imbedded in the body of the closure being such as to make their removal by drilling practically impossible.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cover with supporting posts imbedded in the body in such a way as to leave no space sufficient for providing other holes in which the posts of a substitute cover plate may be inserted and at the same time providing a reduced section of the post adjacent the surface of the body to insure the posts being broken off close to the surface of the body.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

In the dram'ng, in which an embodiment of my invention is shown.

Figure 1. is an axial sectional view showing the closure in place in the bottle neck;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Fig. 3 is a plan View of the bottle neck and closure;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View on a line 44 Of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the float or capsule; and

Fig. '7 is a side elevational view of the cover and supporting posts or legs.

The construction shown comprises a main body 1, molded of what is commonly termed a plastic, the design lending itself readily to ordinary methods of molding, the body being provided with a chamber 2 which may be made cylindrical for convenience in manufacture, a non-return or check valve 3 in this chamber, a float or capsule 4 located in the chamber 2 above the valve, the body being provided with a pouring groove or passage 5 extending the entire length of the body 5 for convenience in molding, the body being recessed as indicated at B to provide a shoulder l for positioning the valve seat and the body being provided with a plurality of recesses 8 in its sides in which are located gripping rollers 9 5 urged into gripping relation by means of springs H], a packing sleeve I I of cork or similar resilient material for effecting a liquid-tight joint between the body 2 and the neck of the bottle, and a valve seat [2 fitting tightly in the recess 6 and lying against the shoulder I, the valve seat being provided with a tongue I3 which fills and fits closely in the lower end of the groove 5.

The capsule 4 is to be made lighter than a corresponding volume of liquor so that it will float therein. This is to be accomplished either by the use of material of specific gravity less than that of the liquor, or to be made hollow, as shown in section in Fig. 1.

The cover plate I4 is composed of material both hard and brittle, glass being the suggested material possessing these properties. It is provided with legs I5. These legs are provided with irregular surfaces or projections I6 at their lower ends to secure them against withdrawal from the plastic composing the body 2. The legs are made with large fillets I! where they join the cover plate, extending to the edge thereof, to make it more difficult to hook anything underneath the edge of the cover plate at this point and also the better to insure that the legs I5, if broken off, will give way at a point near the surface of the body I so as to leave nothing to which a substitute plate might be attached. The cover plate is of such size and shape as to enter the bottle neck I8 without interference with the sides thereof, and yet with the edge of the cover plate I4 approaching the sides of the neck I8 sufficiently closely so as to leave only a narrow aperture around its periphery for the passage past its edge of the liquor as it is being poured out. It is intended that the periphery of the cover I4 should approach most closely to the interior of the bottle neck at the portions adjacent to the supporting legs I5 for reasons subsequently set forth. The legs of the cover plate are secured in the plastic composing the main body of the closure in the process of its molding, the cover plate being placed in the mold, together with the other parts comprising the mold to form the chamber and groove, two loose core pieces being included which form the open space between the top of the body and the under side of the cover plate. The legs or posts I5 may be weakened by indentations or notches II] in order to insure that the posts will be broken off adjacent the surface of the body 2 if the cover' is broken off due to tampering.

The assembly of the various parts is shown in Fig. 1. The closure is to be inserted in the bottle neck I8 after the bottle has first been filled with the liquid contents, it being forced into the neck to a position approximately as shown in Fig. 1 by the use of a set, of tubular form, having an external diameter slightly less than the internal diameter of the bottle neck, and an internal diameter of sufficient size to pass freely over the cover plate I4, portions of the tubular end of the set being quite thin or even entirely cut away in the vicinity of the legs of the cover plate. This set will exert its force directly upon the main body I in forcing it into the bottle neck, no force being exerted upon the glass cover plate.

The two ratchet rollers 9 may be temporarily retained in place in the recesses 8 While inserting the closure into the neck, by means of a spring clip which can be removed after the rollers have passed the mouth of the neck. The rollers 9 once having entered within the bottle neck and being advanced to contact the adjacent surfaces of the bottle neck and inclined surfaces of recesses 8 by the action of the springs I 0, any movement of the body of the closure in the direction of its withdrawal will produce rotation of the rollers in a direction causing them to climb the relatively inclined surfaces and exert a wedging action in accordance with the wellknown action embodied in various ratchet mechanisms embodying this principle.

Due to the action of the ratchet rollers 9, it would be extremely difficult, if not practically impossible to Withdraw the closure. The only part which could possibly be seized upon would be the frail cover plate I4 at some point at which it could not withstand the force that would have to be applied and its fracture would be practically inevitable. Such a fracture would at once clearly disclose such attempt.

Inasmuch as the cover plate I4 would withstand the greatest amount of force if applied in close proximity to the legs, the cover plate more closely approaches the sides of the bottle neck at these points, as shown in Fig. 3, as has been heretofore mentioned, in order to render the insertion of anything resembling a hook the more difficult at these points, and the legs are also provided with fillets I1 extending to the edge of the cove plate, as also previously mentioned, to increase the diificulty of obtaining any pull upon the cover plate at these points.

Pouring from a bottle provided with a closure of this kind is no different than pouring from any ordinary bottle not so equipped. Pouring would be facilitated by titlting the bottle in such a direction as to bring the groove 5 through which the liquor flows to the lower side of the neck, air at the same time being able to enter the bottle by passing alongside the capsule or float 4 which, as previously mentioned, has a loose fit in chamber 2.

The valve 3 leaves its seat I2 with the flow of liquor during pouring, but closes when the bottle is restored to an upright position and in this position would prevent the passage of liquor into the bottle. Should the bottle be inverted, for the purpose of refilling by vacuum means, such as heretofore mentioned, although in this inverted position the valve 3 would naturally fall away from its seat by gravity, as soon as the liquor entering the neck of the bottle submerged the buoyant capsule 4, it would float in said liquor and in rising carry the valve 3 to its closing position against seat I2 and prevent the liquor from entering the bottle.

The valve 3 and capsule 4 are retained in the chamber 2 and their outward movement limited by the cover plate I4, which also practically prevents access to them to any harmful extent by any implement capable of being inserted through the narrow slit between the cover plate and the wall of the bottle neck, with the cover plate depressed within the neck as shown approximately in Fig. 1.

Likewise, the narrowness of the aperture between cover plate I4 and the wall of the bottle neck, together with the obstruction afforded by the legs I5 supporting the cover plate, effectually prevents access to the groove 5 by any implement by which the capsule 4 could be so wedged as to prevent its performing its function in the manner previously described.

The location of the cover plate I4 is such as to make it easily seen but protected against accidental fracture by the wall of the bottle neck.

The position of the closure above described in the neck of the bottle is such as not to interfere in any way with the use of an ordinary screw cap for the ordinary closing of the bottle, the special non-refillable closure herein described serving only to prevent refilling, and to disclose by the breakage of a plainly conspicuous part any attempts at withdrawal of the closure or'tampering with the functions of its component parts.

Further modification will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired therefore, that the invention be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l 1. In a non-refillable bottle closure, a body containing a longitudinal chamber, a groove alongside said chamber and extending throughout its length, a valve seat with projecting tongue to fit within chamber and groove and close the lower end of said groove, a valve and float in said chamber for preventing the liquid from flowing into the bottle through the opening in the valve seat, and a cover plate of brittle material at opposite end of body to retain the valve and float within the longitudinal chamber and to limit their longitudinal movement.

2. A non-refillable bottle closure comprising a cylindrical body of molded material to be inserted in the neck of a bottle, said body being provided with a chamber of uniform cross-section extending therethrough and with a channel constituting a pouring passage extending through said body alongside said chamber and in communication therewith, said channel also being of uniform cross-section throughout its length, a valve seat member provided with a port and mounted in the inner end of said body having a part thereof in longitudinal alignment with said chamber, and a part extending into said channel to close the inner end thereof, means in said chamber for preventing liquid from flowing into the bottle through said port comprising a member longitudinally movable in said chamber, and a cover plate of brittle frangible material secured to said molded body at the outer end thereof for preventing tampering with said flow-preventing means.

3. A non-refillable bottle closure comprising a cylindrical body of molded material to be inserted in the neck of a bottle, said body being provided with a chamber of uniform cross-section extending therethrough and with a channel constituting a pouring passage extending through said body alongside said chamber and in communication therewith, said channel also being of uniform cross-section throughout its length, a valve seat member provided with a port and mounted in the inner end of said body having a part thereof in longitudinal alignment with said chamber and a part extending into said channel to close the inner end thereof, means in said chamber for preventing liquid from flowing into the bottle through said port comprising a member longitudinally movable in said chamber, and a cover plate of brittle frangible material secured to said molded body at the outer end thereof. for preventing tampering with said flow-preventing means, said cover plate having a pair of legs imbedded in said molded body, one leg being on each side of said channel.

MA'I'HER W. SHERWOOD. 

